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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: The Law Department
DATE: August 7, 2018
SUBJECT:
An Ordinance authorizing the Corporation Counsel or his designee to petition the Fox Metro Water Reclamation District for the annexation of the City-owned real property formerly known as the Fox Valley Golf Course.
PURPOSE:
To allow DRH Cambridge Homes, Inc. (DRH), the contract-purchaser of the property to obtain the remaining governmental approvals necessary to complete its contingency period and close the sale.
BACKGROUND:
In March of 2017, the City Council authorized the sale of the former Fox Valley Golf Course to DRH for $5.3 million. The sales contract provided for a time period prior to closing during which DRH would pursue all governmental approvals necessary to develop the property. The City is contractually obligated to provide reasonable assistance to DRH during this process.
The former golf course is located in the Village of North Aurora and does not receive sanitary service from the Village or the City of Aurora, and operated on a septic system during the time it served as a golf course. Because the septic system is insufficient to support its contemplated redevelopment, the property must annex into the Fox Metro (Fox Metro) Water Reclamation District to receive sanitary sewer service.
The Sanitary District Act of 1917, which governs Fox Metro's operations, specifically requires that a property's owner must petition the District for annexation. As closing has not occurred, and will not occur all until government approvals are in place, the City, rather than DRH, must initiate the petition for annexation into Fox Metro.
On July 25, 2018, DRH approached the City's outside counsel and requested the commencement of an annexation petition in time for the monthly Fox Metro Board Meeting on August 15, 2018. Upon review of the request, the City's attorneys concluded that though the Council previously authorized the then-Corporation Counsel to com...
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